Barb Mage

[gekko]

Placing points in energy as a barbarian is not just a bad idea, it's a stupidly moronic idea.

That's like saying putting points in vitality for a sorceress is "stupidly moronic." After all, you get MUCH better return for points placed in energy. And with maxed energy shield, you'll absorb more hit points that way anyways!

The math most definately shows that pumping vitality for a barbarian gives better returns. The math also shows that an all warcry barbarian is a waste of time -- you get much better damage (and especially better damage / mana spent) using just about ANY of the combat skills.

The math most definately shows that the melee sorc is a waste of time. After all, you can get much higher damage with firewall, meteor, frozen orb, static field, etc. than you can with enchant.

Frankly, I think the math supports pumping energy to a certain point. Early in the game (i.e. while war cry is still at low levels), you don't need to put every point in vitality to survive, even HC. Having another 20-40 points in energy here can let you cast many more war cries and keep you in the field longer. Later in the game, you can still have enough life without pumping vitality non-stop -- and while 1 mana per point in energy is very low, it adds up, and it adds on top of whatever other equipment you have. It adds on top of your +mana equipment, whether that be a 3 saphire helm or 2 soj's, 2 wizardspikes and an inventory full of +mana charms.

gekko